My general rut continues. Haven't been feeling much like doing much of anything outside of playing Dragon Age 2. Normally I'd append "and feeling sorry for myself" to the end of sentence like that, but really, I feel just fine. Just haven't been feeling like writing about or even listening to much music (nor using or reviewing apps on that other site that I just launched).

A reader who I'm pretty friendly with on Twitter asked me what I thought of a band named Adebisi Shank. I listened to just a little of their second album over at BandCamp and pretty much immediately fell in love in that way I usually immediately fall in love with things. The manic blast of opener "International Dreambeat" really floored me---my initial impression was of Holy Fuck, but with guitars.

Abedisi Shank play with a lot of different moods (right now the 2001-feeling choir of aaaaahhhh'ing voices on Europa puts me in a suitably haunting sort of mood) across the album, never really setting into one exact flavor. There's songs that remind me of White Denim's album "Fits". Album closer "Century City" makes me want to go "Slappa da bass! Slappa da bass!" big time... but in a good way. "Masa", the second song and possibly my favorite just because of how unabashedly anthemic (one of my favorite non-words) it is for being instrumental. There's even a song called "Micromachines" which doesn't sound anything like playing with micromachines but thanks for reminding me of those tiny little plastic cars I enjoyed more than full-sized Hot Wheels. I picked this song, "Frunk", to post on my website because of... well, I dunno, just listen to that "BA da DA " that comes in at two minutes in and tell me it's not awesome. Yes, that part only lasts for about 15 seconds but I love it, so fuck you.

In general this is the kind of album you want to listen to when you're getting pumped up to do something. Like, say, for a party, or working on a term paper, or chopping up a body with a big axe so you can more easily distribute parts of it over a vast area. I'd recommend it whole heartedly, even though my taste for instrumental music is notoriously tiny and crowded.

Remember, listen for free and buy at BandCamp.

I'm a pretty big fan of most of Parts & Labor's 2008 release, Receivers. Some songs kind of wore on me, didn't seem to have as much punch as the others. The ones I loved the most I covered back in April of 2009, and those songs are still in some ways better than the songs on their new album, Constant Future. That said, I think this new one is their most accessible and consistently enjoyable album so far.

In general the Parts & Labor line up on this album (missing the last album's female guitarist) sound much more focused on making more dance-able, almost pop-rock tunes. A lot of the experimentation of the last albums (and the ones prior, which I enjoy even less) is gone here. There's no Mount Misery on this album, my favorite Parts & Labor song ever, which is to say there aren't any songs that ooze post-apocalyptic atmosphere or sound like they're telling a story at all. That Fallout-esque imagery is still in the lyrics, like on this track: "the pictures gathered dust and acid rain" and don't ask me to decipher the rest of the lyrics.

I have almost never been able to understand the majority of what Parts & Labor's vocalists are singing, but for the most part that's just fine. I don't like to know too much, as that can detract from my own, more enjoyable, interpretation of the song. I really like Dan Friel's voice a lot, and since he's also the brains behind the really unique synthesizer sound that really powers what makes Parts & Labor sound unique and interesting, I gotta say I am totally jealous of that guys chops.

What we end up with on Constant Future is a very tight album, without any real slow points, that is chock full of quality songs. I've been listening to it endlessly all week, and as a whole, I think this is definitely their best album to date. I was never a big fan of "noise rock" anyway. I'm totally comfortable with the road they're travelling down. I just want them to release more quickly.